Ever get those mean hard disapproving looks from other drivers as they overtake you, just because you did something they didn’t like, like driving too slow and not allowing them to overtake you, or suddenly cutting lanes without giving any signal?
Yeah, that judgmental stare that seems to scream out, “You SOB, go back to driving school”.
I’m an Auto commuter here in Mumbai. And I’ve seen my fair share of auto drivers giving that dirty looks to others. Back in B’lore I had a car, so I used to be at the receiving end of such looks many times. And here’s the funny part – even I used to give those looks to other drivers!
The proverbial saying – “Look before you leap” becomes “Look after you beep”.
So if you have looked at other drivers, or other drivers have looked at you, here is my question: Why do we do it? If you really think about it, it’s pretty silly. It’s not like we are ever going to meet the person we stared at again. The chances of going to a job interview and the HR suddenly screaming, “Heyyyy wait a minute! I know youuu! I stared at you 2 months and 13 days ago because you suddenly swerved your bike towards my car. Sorry, we are currently not hiring any new copywriters!” is pretty slim.
But still we do it.
I guess to those of us who stare, it gives us a strange satisfaction to reprimand somebody for driving like a maniac.
But eventually… does it really matter? Does the person give a rat’s ass about our stare? Will he become a better person and win the Noble prize because we gave him the looks? Nah. I guess it is human nature to share our feelings and shove it down someone’s throat, however unwelcome it may be.
You can try this yourself – the next time you see some crazy driver ahead and you overtake that person, can you do it without staring at him/her?
Believe me, some of you won’t even realize it until you’ve read this. Just… keep moving ahead without giving the looks to that person, and let me know how hard it was not to stare at that person. Ah, the sheer temptation to turn and look!Funny isn’t it, this species of ours?
